Daring Bakers March

For Daring Bakers March recipe it was the Perfect Party Cake by Dorie Greenspan from Baking from My Home to Yours. Oh my gush this recipe was so good. I am most definitely making it again. The buttercream came out wonderful, a little more would have been nice. The cake tasted great and every one who had a piece loved it.

Things I learned:
I can make buttercream without it curdling
I would use cake pans, the next day I used the egg yolks and one of the pans to make the Flan.
Layer cakes are not that hard to make, the most time consuming part was waiting for the cake to cool.
I really need to go to a cake decorating class, my mother could not handle the way I was doing it and took over
Coconut covers a multitude of mistakes.
Cutting the cake in half and level is harder than it looks on TV.

PERFECT PARTY CAKE
Courtesy of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours (page 250).

Words from Dorie
Stick a bright-coloured Post-it to this page, so you’ll always know where to turn for a just-right cake for any celebration. The original recipe was given to me by my great dear friend Nick Malgieri, of baking fame, and since getting it, I’ve found endless opportunities to make it – you will too. The cake is snow white, with an elegant tight crumb and an easygoing nature: it always bakes up perfectly; it is delicate on the tongue but sturdy in the kitchen – no fussing when it comes to slicing the layers in half or cutting tall, beautiful wedges for serving; and, it tastes just as you’d want a party cake to taste – special. The base recipe is for a cake flavoured with lemon, layered with a little raspberry jam and filled and frosted with a classic (and so simple) pure white lemony hot-meringue buttercream but, because the elements are so fundamental, they lend themselves to variation (see Playing Around), making the cake not just perfect, but also versatile.

For the Cake

2 1/4 cups cake flour (updated 25 March)
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 ¼ cups whole milk or buttermilk (I prefer buttermilk with the lemon)
4 large egg whites
1 ½ cups sugar
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon pure lemon extract

For the Buttercream
1 cup sugar
4 large egg whites
3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from 2 large lemons)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For Finishing
2/3 cup seedless raspberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable
About 1 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

Getting Ready
Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 9 x 2 inch round cake pans and line the bottom of each pan with a round of buttered parchment or wax paper. Put the pans on a baking sheet.

To Make the Cake
Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Whisk together the milk and egg whites in a medium bowl.
Put the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.
Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.
Beat in the extract, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.
Beat in half of the milk-egg mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.
Add the rest of the milk and eggs beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.
Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.
Divide the batter between the two pans and smooth the tops with a rubber spatula.
Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean
Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes, unfold them and peel off the paper liners.
Invert and cool to room temperature, right side up (the cooled cake layers can be wrapped airtight and stored at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to two months).

To Make the Buttercream
Put the sugar and egg whites in a mixer bowl or another large heatproof bowl, fit the bowl over a plan of simmering water and whisk constantly, keeping the mixture over the heat, until it feels hot to the touch, about 3 minutes.
The sugar should be dissolved, and the mixture will look like shiny marshmallow cream.
Remove the bowl from the heat.
Working with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer, beat the meringue on medium speed until it is cool, about 5 minutes.
Switch to the paddle attachment if you have one, and add the butter a stick at a time, beating until smooth.
Once all the butter is in, beat in the buttercream on medium-high speed until it is thick and very smooth, 6-10 minutes.
During this time the buttercream may curdle or separate – just keep beating and it will come together again.
On medium speed, gradually beat in the lemon juice, waiting until each addition is absorbed before adding more, and then the vanilla.
You should have a shiny smooth, velvety, pristine white buttercream. Press a piece of plastic against the surface of the buttercream and set aside briefly.

To Assemble the Cake
Using a sharp serrated knife and a gentle sawing motion, slice each layer horizontally in half.
Put one layer cut side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper.
Spread it with one third of the preserves.
Cover the jam evenly with about one quarter of the buttercream.
Top with another layer, spread with preserves and buttercream and then do the same with a third layer (you’ll have used all the jam and have buttercream leftover).
Place the last layer cut side down on top of the cake and use the remaining buttercream to frost the sides and top.
Press the coconut into the frosting, patting it gently all over the sides and top.

Serving
The cake is ready to serve as soon as it is assembled, but I think it’s best to let it sit and set for a couple of hours in a cool room – not the refrigerator. Whether you wait or slice and enjoy it immediately, the cake should be served at room temperature; it loses all its subtlety when it’s cold. Depending on your audience you can serve the cake with just about anything from milk to sweet or bubbly wine.

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving. If you want to freeze the cake, slide it into the freezer to set, then wrap it really well – it will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer; defrost it, still wrapped overnight in the refrigerator.

Playing Around
Since lemon is such a friendly flavour, feel free to make changes in the preserves: other red preserves – cherry or strawberry – look especially nice, but you can even use plum or blueberry jam.

Fresh Berry Cake
If you will be serving the cake the day it is made, cover each layer of buttercream with fresh berries – use whole raspberries, sliced or halved strawberries or whole blackberries, and match the preserves to the fruit. You can replace the coconut on top of the cake with a crown of berries, or use both coconut and berries. You can also replace the buttercream between the layers with fairly firmly whipped sweetened cream and then either frost the cake with buttercream (the contrast between the lighter whipped cream and the firmer buttercream is nice) or finish it with more whipped cream. If you use whipped cream, you’ll have to store the cake the in the refrigerator – let it sit for about 20 minutes at room temperature before serving.

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Tuesday with Dorie: Caramel Topped Flan

This week on Tuesdays with Dorie A Whisk and a Spoon made a very cool choice of Caramel Topped Flan as the recipe. I always thought that flan was hard to made so I never tried. It is pretty easy to make and took less than on hour. When it is flipped over the effect is just so cool.

I used soy milk and soy cream for the recipe and it came out great. I am making it for knitting guild and there are some non-dairy people there and this worked out very well.

However I had some set backs and some set forwards.

Set forwards: I had some egg yolks, I needed some egg whites the night before and had some egg yolks left over.

I had a round cake pan. I was borrowing one for something else and it worked so well that I think that I might go out and buy some.

Set backs: I got paged into work 5 minutes before it should come out of the oven. I was able to wait and pull it out but is was close.

I was using soy milk products, this is always iffy they do not always work.

I used just a bit to much lemon juice in the caramel but that seems to have mellowed overnight.

For the Caramel

1/3 cup sugar

3 tbsp water

squirt of fresh lemon juice

For the Flan

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

1-1/4 cups whole milk

3 large eggs

2 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a roasting pan or a 9-x-13-inch baking pan with a double thickness of paper towels. Fill a teakettle with water and put it on to boil; when the water boils, turn off the heat.Put a metal 8-x-2-inch round cake pan-not a nonstick one-in the oven to heat while you prepare the caramel.

To Make the Caramel: Stir the sugar, water and lemon juice together in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Put the pan over medium-high heat and cook until the sugar becomes an amber-colored caramel, about 5 minutes-remove the pan from the heat at the first whiff of smoke. Remove the cake pan from the oven and, working with oven mitts, pour the caramel into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the caramel evenly over the bottom; set the pan aside.

To Make the Flan: Bring the cream and milk just to a boil.Meanwhile, in a 2-quart glass measuring cup or in a bowl, whisk together the eggs, yolks and sugar. Whisk vigorously for a minute or two, and then stir in the vanilla. Still whisking, drizzle in about one quarter of the hot liquid-this will temper, or warm, the eggs so they won't curdle. Whisking all the while, slowly pour in the remainder of the hot cream and milk. Using a large spoon, skim off the bubbles and foam that you worked up.Put the caramel-lined cake pan in the roasting pan. Pour the custard into the cake pan and slide the setup into the oven. Very carefully pour enough hot water from the kettle into the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the cake pan. (Don't worry if this sets the cake pan afloat.) Bake the flan for about 35 minutes, or until the top puffs a bit and is golden here and there. A knife inserted into the center of the flan should come out clean.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven, transfer the cake pan to a cooking rack and run a knife between the flan and the sides of the pan to loosen it. Let the flan cool to room temperature on the rack, then loosely cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.When ready to serve, once more, run a knife between the flan and the pan. Choose a rimmed serving platter, place the platter over the cake pan, quickly flip the platter and pan over and remove the cake pan-the flan will shimmy out and the caramel sauce will coat the custard.

Yield: 6 to 8 Servings

Snow at Easter

We have snow here this Easter.

Where Raisinets come from

Where Raisinets come from.

Bent Objects

Happy Pie Day

I made the Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake from Dorie's book again. It went over so well the first time. That and it does not really take that long to make. I had enough dough to make one large deep dish and 2 little personal pies. This is one of those pies that may not look pretty but tastes great.

Tuesdays, Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake

I really like this weeks recipe. I did make some changes to the crust recipe. I used 1 stick of butter and the rest was some rehydrated applesauce that I had made last fall. Then I used vanilla sugar for the sugar. Everyone really liked the crust.

I used Granny Smith for the apples. There was very little juce which I liked. The way the recipe is you taste the apples. Next time I think that I will use a mix of apples. I will be making another one on friday for Pie Day.


Russian Grandmothers' Apple Pie-Cake

For The Dough
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lemon
3 1/4 - 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

For The Apples
10 medium apples, all one kind or a mix (I like to use Fuji, Golden Delicious and Ida Reds; my grandmother probably used dry baking apples like Cordland and Rome)
Squirt of fresh lemon juice
1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden)
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Sugar, preferably decorating (coarse) sugar, for dusting

To Make The Dough: Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes more. Reduce the mixer speed to low, add the baking powder and salt and mix just to combine. Add the lemon juice - the dough will probably curdle, but don't worry about it. Still working on low speed, slowly but steadily add 3 1/4 cups of the flour, mixing to incorporate it and scraping down the bowl as needed. The dough is meant to be soft, but if you think it looks more like a batter than a dough at this point, add the extra 1/4 cup flour. (The dough usually needs the extra flour.) When properly combined, the dough should almost clean the sides of the bowl.

Turn the dough out onto a work surface, gather it into a ball and divide it in half. Shape each half into a rectangle. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or for up to 3 days. (The dough can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; defrost overnight in the refrigerator.)

To Make The Apples: Peel and core the apples and cut into slices about 1/4 inch thick; cut the slices in half crosswise if you want. Toss the slices in a bowl with a little lemon juice - even with the juice, the apples may turn brown, but that's fine - and add the raisins. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together, sprinkle over the apples and stir to coat evenly. Taste an apple and add more sugar, cinnamon, and/or lemon juice if you like.

Getting Ready to Bake: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Generously butter a 9x12-inch baking pan (Pyrex is good) and place it on a baking shee tlined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Remove the dough from the fridge. If it is too hard to roll and it cracks, either let it sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes or give it a few bashes with your rolling pin to get it moving. Once it's a little more malleable, you've got a few choices. You can roll it on a well-floured work surface or roll it between sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper. You can even press or roll out pieces of the dough and patch them together in the pan - because of the baking powder in the dough, it will puff and self-heal under the oven's heat. Roll the dough out until it is just a little larger all around than your pan and about 1/4 inch thick - you don't want the dough to be too thin, because you really want to taste it. Transfer the dough to the pan. If the dough comes up the sides of the pan, that's fine; if it doesn't that's fine too.

Give the apples another toss in the bowl, then turn them into the pan and, using your hands, spread them evenely across the bottom.

Roll out the second piece of dough and position it over the apples. Cut the dough so you've got a 1/4 to 1/2 inch overhang and tuck the excess into the sides of the pan, as though you were making a bed. (If you don't have that much overhang, just press what you've got against the sides of the pan.)

Brush the top of the dough lightly with water and sprinkle sugar over the dough. Using a small sharp knife, cut 6 to 8 evenly spaced slits in the dough.

Bake for 65 to 80 minutes, or until the dough is a nice golden brown and the juices from the apples are bubbling up through the slits. Transfer the baking pan to a cooling rack and cool to just warm or to room temperature. You'll be tempted to taste it sooner, but I think the dough needs a little time to rest.

Community Supported Agriculture

Well I did it, this year I joined a CSA. I kept track of what I bought at the farmers markets last year and this come out cheaper and goes longer, especially when you factor in the eggs. I am using Grant Farms. There are only a few in Colorado and very few that deliver near where I live.

If you want to see if there are any in your area www.localharvest.org is a good place to start.

Tuesdays with Dorie, Snickery Squares

This week for Tuesdays with Dorie the recipe was Snickery Squares. This recipe just did not work for me. Part of the problem was most likely the fact that I did not do the part with the nuts, I can not eat them. I just did not care for the dulce de leche it did not seem to be as dark as in the picture. I wonder if I got the wrong kind.

I did like the crust. I think that I will use it for my Pie day pie. I am taking the squares to work, I am sure that they will all be gone by the end of the day.

Snickery Squares

For the Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 TBSP powdered sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
1 large egg yolk, lightly beaten

For the Filling:

½ cup sugar
3 TBSP water
1 ½ cups salted peanuts
About 1 ½ cups store-bought dulce de leche

For the Topping:

7 ounces bittersweet, coarsely chopped
½ stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces, at room temperature

Getting Ready:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter a 8 inch square pan and put it on a baking sheet.

To Make the Crust:

Toss the flour, sugar, powdered sugar and salt into a food processor and pulse a few times to combine. Toss in the pieces of cold butter and pulse about 12 times, until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Pour the yolk over the ingredients and pulse until the dough forms clumps and curds-stop before the dough comes together in a ball.
Turn the dough into the buttered pan and gently press it evenly across the bottom of the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and slide the sheet into the oven.
Bake the crust for 15-20 minutes, or until it takes on just a little color around the edges. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool to room temperature before filling.

To Make the Filling:

Have a parchment or silicone mat-lined baking sheet at the ready, as well as a long-handled wooden spoon and a medium heavy bottomed saucepan.
Put the sugar and water in the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Keeping the heat fairly high, continue to cook the sugar, without stirring, until it just starts to color. Toss the peanuts and immediately start stirring. Keep stirring, to coat the peanuts with sugar. Within a few minutes, they will be covered with sugar and turn white—keep stirring until the sugar turns back into caramel. When the peanuts are coated with a nice deep amber caramel, remove the pan from the heat and turn the nuts out onto the baking sheet., using the wooden spoon to spread them out as best you can. Cool the nuts to room temperature.
When they are cool enough to handle, separate the nuts or break them into small pieces. Divide the nuts in half. Keep half of the nuts whole or in biggish pieces for the filling, and finely chop the other half for the topping.
Spread the dulce de leche over the shortbread base and sprinkle over the whole candied nuts.

To Make the Topping:

Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Remove chocolate from the heat and gently stir in the butter, stirring until it is fully blended into the chocolate.
Pour the chocolate over the dulce de leche, smoothing it with a long metal icing spatula, then sprinkle over the rest of the peanuts. Slide the pan into the fridge to set the topping, about 20 minutes; if you’d like to serve the squares cold, keep them refrigerated for at least 3 hours before cutting.

Cut into 16 bars.

Books read in Feb

Young Warriors Pierce/Sherman

Moon Fever Susan Sizemore, Maggie Shayne, Lori Handeland, Caridad Pineiro

Lord of the Night Robin Popp

The chains that you refuse Elizabeth Bear

Mystic’s Run Jory Strong

Crystal Dragon Sharon Lee

Phobos Ty Drago

Beyond the Dark Angela Knight, Emma Holly, Lora Leigh, Diane Whiteside

Swimming without a net MaryJanice Davidson

A promise made Janet Miller

Beloved Enemy Janet Miller

Promises to keep Janet Miller

Harald David D. Friedman

The Wizard Hunters Martha Wells

The Gate of Gods Martha Wells

Darkness Falls Kyle Mills

Old Mans War John Scalzi

A passion for baking Goldman, Marcy

Year of the hyenas Geagley, Brad

The puzzling world of Winston Breen Berlin, Eric

A secret rage Harris, Charlaine

Like a Thief in the Night Bettie Sharpe

Court Appointed Annmarie McKenna

The Widowmaker Unleashed Mike Resnick

Manhunting Jennifer Crusie

Secret Rage Charline Harris

The Puzzling World of Winston Breen Eric Berlin

Welcome to Temptation Jennifer Crusie

Street Magic Tamora Pierce

The Wizard’s Shadow Susan Dexter

Trickster’s Queen Tamora Pierce

The Yarn Lover’s Guide to Hand Dyeing Linda La Belle

Khi to Freedom Ardath Mayhar

Witch and Wombat Carolyn Cushman

Sizzle and Burn Jayne Ann Krentz

Grimspace Ann Aguirre

Daring Bakers Feb

Hello, For this month The Daring Baker's made Julia Child's French Bread. This was a time consuming recipe. I have to say as French breads go it was Ok. I prefer the recipe I go with my bread machine.

And now the pictures.

Before first rise.

Here they are just before the final rise, this took 3 hours.

It was fun getting both on one cookie sheet and into the oven.


It came out with a nice crust, the shape did not hold however. It tasted good though.

The crumb was not bad.



It went over well at the Potluck that I went to. Out of the 2 loaves this was what was left.

Tuesdays with Dorie, Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits

This week on Tuesdays with Dorie it is Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits.

This was one of my better goes at a kneaded biscuit. I have a tendency to over knead. It came out as a good plain biscuit. I think that it would work great as a base. It would not take much to make them savory or sweet. These would be good for strawberry short cake or cheese and ham. Next time I make it I think that I will add some dried currents and vanilla. I did not add the pecans, right now I can not eat them. I do not have a biscuit cutter so I used a pentagon cookie cutter. The biscuits split in half fairly easy.

I froze half of them to see how that would work and it just took an extra 5 minutes to cook. This worked well for me because there is only 2 people in my house and well eating 12 in one night is just a little much. I was able to make them as needed. This was nice.


Pecan Sour Cream Biscuits
(Makes about 12 biscuits)

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and 1/3 cup cake flour)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces
1/2 cup cold sour cream
1/4 cold whole milk
1/3 cup finely chopped pecans, preferably toasted

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Get out a sharp 2-inch-diameter biscuit cutter and line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.

Whisk the flour(s), baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a bow. Stir in the brown sugar, making certain there are no lumps. Drop in the butter and, using your fingers, toss to coat the pieces of butter with flour. Quickly, working with your fingertips (my favorite method) or a pastry blender, cut and rub the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture is pebbly. You'll have pea-size pieces, pieces the size of oatmeal flakes and pieces the size of everything in between-- and that's just right.

Stir the sour cream and milk together and pour over the dry ingredients. Grab a fork and gently toss and turn the ingredients together until you've got a nice soft dough. Now reach into the bowl with your hands and give the dough a quick gentle kneading-- 3 or 4 turns should be just enough to bring everything together. Toss in the pecans and knead 2 to 3 times to incorporate them.

Lightly dust a work surface with flour and turn out the dough. Dust the top of the dough very lightly with flour, pat the dough out with your hands or toll it with a pin until it is about 1/2 inch high. Don't worry if the dough isn't completely even-- a quick, light touch is more important than accuracy.

Use the biscuit cutter to cut out as many biscuits as you can. Try to cut the biscuits close to one another so you get the most you can out of the first round. By hand or with a small spatula, transfer the biscuits to the baking sheet. Gather together the scraps, working with them as little as possible, pat out to a 1/2-inch thickness and cut as many additional biscuits as you can; transfer these to the sheet. (The biscuits ca be made to this point and frozen on the baking sheet, then wrapped airtight and kept for up to 2 months. Bake without defrosting-- just add a couple more minutes to the oven time.)

Bake the biscuits for 14-18 minutes, or until they are tall, puffed and golden brown. Transfer them to a serving basket.

knitting

I have been showing what I have been knitting because it was the socks for my sock pal. I just finished knitting them. I did this after waiting for my car's oil to be changed and in line to get a new membership for Costco. Yaa!!! Now I just need to pack the last box to go out in a few weeks.

Braces

Late last year I found out what was causes my TMJ. My lower jar is over 1/4 of an inch smaller than my upper jaw. Which meant that I was unhinging my jaw to eat and sometimes to talk. This has worn down the bones, one more than the other. To fix this I will need to have jaw surgery to lengthen my lower jaw. Before I get that I need to get the rest of my bite fixed. Which means braces. A few months from now I will also need to get my wisdom teeth taken out. At least I only have three.

Anyway I had spacers but in Thursday in preparation for the braces. I can not eat anything crunchy, or chewy. This will change what I eat most definitely. Right now is hurts to chew so I have been eating soups, shakes and the very soft parts of bread. Not fun. I am ordering a cookbook on foods that can be eaten while in braces. I imagine that after a few weeks that I will be able to eat more stuff, I have to relearn how to eat. I had to do this last year when I had a dental splint. So I was expecting it. It just hurts more than I thought.

Tuesdays with Dorie, Almost-Fudge Gâteau

Tuesdays with Dorie

This was not hard at all to make. To me it came out as a fudge like brownie. It did taste better the next day. The fun part to me was unwrapping the chocolate, the bars looked like the chocolate from Willy Wonka with the gold foil. I did not think that the Almost-Fudge Gâteau needed the extra chocolate that the Glaze would have given. That and a little piece goes a long way. I cut them up into 1 inch squares and they went fast.

Almost-Fudge Gâteau

5 large eggs
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup of sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons coffee or water
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt

For the Glaze (optional)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
½ cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, butter the paper, dust the inside of the pan with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Separate the eggs, putting the whites in a mixer bowl or other large bowl and the yolks in a small bowl.

Set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and add the chocolate, sugar butter and coffee. Stir occasionally until the chocolate and butter are melted; the sugar may still be grainy, and that's fine. Transfer the bowl to the counter and let the mixture sit for 3 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, stir in the yolks one by one, then fold in the flour.

Working with the whisk attachment of the mixer or a hand mixer, beat the egg whites with the pinch of salt until they hold firm, but glossy peaks. Using the spatula, stir about one quarter of the beaten whites into the batter, then gently fold in the rest. Scrape the butter into the pan and jiggle the pan from side to side a couple of times to even the batter.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the cake has risen evenly (it might rise around the edges and you'll think it's done, but give it a few minutes more, and the center will puff too) and the top has firmed (it will probably be cracked) and doesn't shimmy when tapped; a thin knife inserted into the center should come out just slightly streaked with chocolate. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the cake rest for 5 to 10 minutes.

Run a blunt knife gently around the edges of the cake and remove the sides of the pan. Carefully turn the cake over onto a rack and remove the pan bottom and the parchment paper. Invert the cake onto another rack and cool to room temperature right side up. As the cake cools, it may sink.

To Make the Optional Glaze:

First, turn the cooled cake over onto another rack so you'll be glazing the flat bottom, and place the rack over a baking sheet lined with parchment or wax paper to catch any drips.

Put the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl.

Melt the chocolate over a pan of simmering water or in a microwave oven – the chocolate should be just melted and only warm, not hot. Meanwhile, bring the cream to a boil in a small sauce pan. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and stir very gently with a rubber spatula until the mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in the corn syrup.

Pour the glaze over the cake and smooth the top with a long metal icing spatula. Don't worry if the glaze drips unevenly down the sides of the cake – it will just add to its charms. Allow the glaze to set at room temperature or, if you're impatient, slip the cake into the refrigerator for about 20 minutes. If the glaze dulls in the fridge, just give it a little gentle heat from a hairdryer.

Online cooking events

Thank you every one who gave advice on what to do next time I use a spring form pan. I will be trying that recipe again. The reason that I even tried to make cheese cake was that there was on online group that did it. This helps when something goes wrong and for me allows me to try something new.

There are online cooking events for all different kinds of food. Here are a few that I am in or have thought about, this is by no means a complete list.

Weekly
The Presto Pasta Night round up every Friday
http://onceuponafeast.blogspot.com/


Every week something from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours
http://tuesdayswithdorie.wordpress.com/


Monthly

Weekend Cookbook Challenge
http://weekendcookbookchallenge.blogspot.com/

Monthly Mingle February 2008 - One-Dish Dinner

http://whatsforlunchhoney.blogspot.com/2008/02/comfort-food-roundup-mm-18.html#MMFeb2008

The Daring Bakers
http://daringbakersblogroll.blogspot.com/

No Croutons Required

http://foodandspice.blogspot.com/2008/02/no-croutons-required.html

Master Baker

http://masterbaker.wordpress.com/category/challenges/

Baking Bread Day
http://kochtopf.twoday.net/stories/4124192/

One time events

An apple a day - Blog Event 3rd March 2008

http://machetiseimangiato.wordpress.com/2008/02/01/an-apple-a-day-blog-event-3rd-march-2008/

March 14, Pie Day
http://kitchenparade.com/2008/02/pi-day-recipes-for-homemade-pie.php

cooking when not on call

I can cook when I am not on call. After getting paged while making bread, pie, cake and once even a turkey dinner. At least for the last one I had family here and they took it out of the oven. I no longer cook a whole lot during the week that I am on call.

Last weekend I was not on call and made bread from scratch, split pea soup to go with the bread and brown sugar apple cheese cake. I went to a party Sunday and took it all with me. I have to say that a little cheese cake goes a long way.

For a first time making cheese cake it came out pretty tasty. I forgot to put foil over it half way though so it got a little brown and the springform pan leaked. Well leaked is not the right word. The recipe, from Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. says to wrap the outside bottom part of the pan with foil. Later you pour hot water around the springform pan. The water leaked into the cheese cake. To get the water out I cooked it for an hour longer not in the water bath.

It went over very well and half was gone. I took the rest to work today and left it in respiratory. Browning the apples and then adding sugar gave it great flavor.

Hugo Awards

I am going to Worldcon in Denver this year, it is called Denventon. So I get to vote on the Hugo awards. Right now there is the nominating phase, it is interesting. Some of the stuff I have no clue on, best semiprozine and best fanzine come to mind. Then I have to think of what I read last year. There was a lot of stuff. You saw what I read last month just multiply that by 12 and see what you get. The good part is that I have until March to figure this out.

books read in January

I know that I missed a few but is a close list.

The privilege of the sword Kushner, Ellen

The sword Johnson, Jean

Lords of the Were Bianca D’Arc

Sweeter Than Wine Bianca D’Arc

Kitty and the Silver Bullet Carrie Vaughn

Plan B Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Balance of Trade Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Mrs. Ballard's parrots Svenson, Arne

The devil you know Carey, Mike

Mollie Katzen's sunlight café Katzen, Mollie

Mollie Katzen's vegetable heaven Katzen, Mollie

Biscuits, pancakes & quick breads Cox, Beverly

Baking : from my home to yours Greenspan, Dorie

The Devil's possession Waters, Heather

Endless Blue Wen Spencer

Howl’s Moving Castle Jones, Diana Wynne

The Master Johnson, Jean

I’m Your Santa Lori Foster

The Devil Inside Jenna Black

Atlantis Awakening Alyssa Day

Scar Night Alan Campbell

The Secret Keeper Kate Coombs

Instead of Three Wishes Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief Megan Whalen Turner

When I fall in Love Lynn Kurland

Blood engines T. A. Pratt

Ain't myth-behaving Katie MacAlister

The unnatural inquirer Simon R. Green

Out Of the Dark Barbara Karmazin

The Morgue the Merrier Rosemary Laurey, Karen Kelley, Dianne Castell

The Way U Look Tonight Dianne Castell

I’ll Be Seeing U Dianne Castell

I Dare Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

Raven’s Shadow Patricia Briggs

Raven’s Strike Patricia Briggs

Micah Laurell Hamilton

The Sorcerer’s Academy Anthology

Running Scared Elizabeth Lowell

Deep Waters Jayne Ann Krentz

Moving Target Elizabeth Lowell

funny picture

It is a funny picture.

Daring Bakers January

It is Lemon Meringue Pie, hosted by Jen at the Canadian Baker. I have never made a meringue, cornstarch pie, or even a pie crust from scratch before so this was all new to me. The crust came out really good, the filling leaked a little, but tasted great and the meringue tastes great!

chili

I made chili from scratch for the first time Sunday. It came out pretty good. Monday I went and pressure canned it. I have 5 quart and one pint jar with no chili in that pot left over. I had to put some of the spicy chili in the freezer, I did not have enough of the cooler parts to make it then. That and I ran out of room in the pot. The nice part of pressure canning it is that if I just do not want to cook all I have to do it open the jar and heat it up. This also works well for lunch, I tend to keep at least one jar at each of my work's. Normally I just take some calls of no bean chili and add more meat and lots of beans.

Spice Pantry

Tasting Spoon was showing what her spice rack looked like and was wondering what other peoples looked like. Here is mine Saturday morning. When I got home that evening I had gotten a box from Penzeys and expanded what I have.

I am looking for a small closable cabinet that I can put all my spices. Right now I have a little here and there. I do like the under the cabinet thing but it is just not big enough.

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

Well that is what I made for dinner last night. The chicken tasted good but because I used thighs with the skin on there was a lot of fat in the pot. Next time I do this I will take the skin and as much as the fat off as I can. It was good over pasta.

Sewing projects

Finish table cloth for my mother's friend

Finish lap quilt for my mother's friend. My mother got most of the top done I just need to add the borders, backing and quilt it.

Finish toucan's

Make some more small knitting bags

Make some more tote bags

Make 2 tote bags for each of my grand mothers

make some small gift bags

make some aprons for me, I would use them now.


Well that is the list as of now, this is sure to change.

Knitting projects for the year

Thummed mittens, it is cold here right now.

Socks for my Aunt, this a PHD graduation gift

Socks for my sock pal, due by March

socks for my niece

some wash cloths

finish mystery stole 3

make a stole for my mother

make socks for me, I tend to make they for other people.


I am sure that this list will change but today these are the projects I want to get done this year.

Free Book from EOS

Shaman's Crossing: The Soldier Son Trilogy by Robin Hobb

As part of their 10 year anniversary Eos is giving away some books. This is their first one.

Best Drop Biscuits

The first biscuits that I remember I had at my grandparents when I was 4 or 5. My granddad made them. They were drop biscuits. Ever since then I have like that kind a lot more than the other kind. That and drop biscuits are easier to make.

I made Best Drop Biscuits from Culinary in the Country.

I did make some changes. I used soy yogurt instead of the buttermilk, margarine instead of butter, used 1 tablespoon of sugar instead of 1 teaspoon. I am lactose intolerance so I needed to work around it. This came out very good and very buttery. They are not going to last for long. 3 have already have been eaten.


Best Drop Biscuits (Adapted from Cook's Illustrated)

For the biscuits
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup cold buttermilk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

To brush the biscuits
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

To make the biscuits

Preheat oven to 475

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt.

In a medium bowl, add cold buttermilk and melted butter - mix together until butter forms small clumps. Pour mixture into the dry and stir just until combined.

Scoop out the mixture using a large cookie scoop (about 1/4 cup worth) and drop onto parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing biscuits about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until tops are golden brown and crisp, about 12 to 14 minutes.

To finish the biscuits

When they come out of the oven, brush the tops with the 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Move the biscuits to a wire rack and cool about 5 minutes before serving. Transfer to wire rack and let cool 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 biscuits

goals for the year

Cook at least on item from one of the web once a week

Cook at least one item from a cook book once a month

Try to finsh a quilt a month, or at least a top.

Only buy fabric NEEDED to finsh a quilt, use what I have

Only buy Yarn NEEDED to finsh a project, use what I have.

Watch a sunrise or sunset at least once a week

Put $50 aside a month

Finsh setting up the front yard

figure out what I want to do in the backyard

put tiles down on the steps in the house

park my car in the garage more



I am sure that there will be more but this is a start.

Surgery, TMI

Well, I am feeling a lot better now. I had breast reduction surgery on the 17th of Dec. That week I slept a lot and did not do much of anything. The next week I felt a little better but I was still in a little bit of pain and could not do much. This is the trid week and I feel a lot better but I can not lift heavy items or reach much. I went back to work yesterday, I set it up before I left that I would have paperwork to do for the first few weeks.


Well that was where I have been.

names

What Michelle Means

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated.You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want.You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way! You tend to be pretty tightly wound. It's easy to get you excited... which can be a good or bad thing.You have a lot of enthusiasm, but it fades rather quickly. You don't stick with any one thing for very long.You have the drive to accomplish a lot in a short amount of time. Your biggest problem is making sure you finish the projects you start. You are very open. You communicate well, and you connect with other people easily.You are a naturally creative person. Ideas just flow from your mind.A true chameleon, you are many things at different points in your life. You are very adaptable. You are truly an original person. You have amazing ideas, and the power to carry them out.Success comes rather easily for you... especially in business and academia.Some people find you to be selfish and a bit overbearing. You're a strong person. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone.You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together.At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together. You are relaxed, chill, and very likely to go with the flow.You are light hearted and accepting. You don't get worked up easily.Well adjusted and incredibly happy, many people wonder what your secret to life is.

What's" Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Daring Bakers December

The Daring Bakers recipe for December was a Yule Log.
I did this early in the month. I had never made a yule log before, I had never made buttercream, genoise cake or Meringue mushrooms so this month was an adventure.

I started with the mushrooms, they looked to be the easyst to put aside and come back to later. They came out pretty good. The meringue was fragile though, 3-5 mushrooms died when the stem was attached.

I put them aside in a plastic bag for a few days, I needed at least one whole day to make the cake.






Well the genoise cake was interesting, I am not sure if it came out right. It tasted ok and rolled so I went with it.

I however had troubles with the buttercream. It kept breaking and curdling. I finally got it so that it did not look that bad. I think that part of my problem was that room temp was not warm enough for my butter. I keep my house cold in the winter. I got the rolled cake fine but decorating it was a puzzle to me. I have not seen many yule logs before. So I just put mushrooms everywhere. I then wrapped the whole thing up and took it to work. It was way to sweet for me. They ate it.

sleepy

That is what I am a lot lately. Which is not bad, if I am asleep I am not overdoing it. I did that Wed. Thus. hurt. I have started to taper off the pain pills so I should start being more awake.

gym cloths

This is from a few days ago. I have been so busy getting ready for surgery that I have not been able to post much, Hopefully this will change. Anyway if it gets lower that 20 degrees Fahrenheit do not leave gym stuff in the car. I did and had frozen conditioner and tooth paste. which mad for an interesting shower.

Surgery

Well I had the surgery yesterday and it went well. They took me back and had my lie on the table and look at the lights, then I was out. I woke up groggy and sleepy in recovery 2 hours later. I woke up more fully around on hour later and left 30 min after that. So I got to the surgery center at 12 pm and left at 5:30 ish.

I come home and slept off and on for a few hours. I would sleep and then go down stars to watch some TV and then sleep some more. Today I have been drinking water and going to the bathroom much of the day. With brief naps interspersed.

I am hoping to be better enough to go to knitting night on Thus. I am one some pain meds so I am still a little loopy. I am small now. It is a little different when I look at myself. I now need to get new bra's and shirts. They took 3 lbs, 1360 grams from the left side and 2lbs, 907 grams from the right, so now I am under 160 lbs. This would not be a weight loss plan of choice.

Daring Bakers November

I was able to join the Daring Bakers this month and it was so cool! Tanna of My Kitchen In Half Cups picked Tender Potato Bread from Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour & Tradition Around the World byJeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. It was nice that the first challenge I did was something that I was not afraid of, some of the ones in the past looked a little hard for me.

The recipe starts out with Potatoes. They are to be boiled and them mashed. The potatoes and the water are used in the bread. The potatoes add tenderness to the bread. The bread was to be made by hand. It has been a while since I have made bread that way, I tend to make the dough in the bread machine and then bake it in the oven. So this was different.

Here is the ingredients, this is a savory bread, no sugar involved. It mixed up fairly easy but is a wet bread at this point.






Pre kneed:
Post Kneed:
The next step is to have the dough rise, which when your house is only 58 degrees Fahrenheit is interesting. I had them in the sun and let them rise for longer. We could do anything that we wanted with the dough. I decided to make cobblestone bread and a some rolls. Cobblestone bread is a savory version of monkey bread. I ended up with a little more left over so I rolled up some bread dipping seasonings in the other loaf.


The cobblestone bread was being nibbled on before I could even get a picture. The rest of the bread came out well. The rolls were eaten pretty quickly but the rolled bread was around long enough to get stale. I used it in my stuffing. It come out so well that I am using this for my next batch of stuffing next month.

Glitterns

I am making a pair for my sister-in law for Christmas this year and I have been looking at different ways of doing the mitten part. Right now I am thinking of a knit 2 purl 2 ribbing with a cable thrown in every once in a while for fun. This way it would be interesting to me to knit and the ribbing would tighten it a little. I have to finish some socks first but I am liking the planing stage.

Sock pal swap Questionnaire

The Questionnaire

The Questions

1. How long have you been knitting? Do you consider yourself beginner, intermediate, advanced?

A year and 9 months, I think that I am an intermediate knitter.

1. How long have you been knitting socks?

A year and 7 months, it was the second class I took.

1. What are your favorite fibers to work with?

Wool, alpaca

1. What is your favorite color?

Blues, Greens and purples.

1. What are your current WIPs (works in progress)?

A sock savior sock I am doing for sockapalooza and the mystery stole 3.

1. Name your favorite yarns, (brand, fibers, colors, etc.).

Socks that rock, alpaca sox, fleece artist, sock yarn that is superwash.

1. What are some yarns/fibers that you stay away from.

cotton and plant fibers, they have next to no give when knitting and it makes hands hurt after only 5 minutes of knitting.

1. What is your family situation? (Married, kids, pets?)

Single but my younger brother lives with me. No pets at this time.

1. Name some of your hobbies.

quiltings, knitting, reading

1. Name some of your favorite movies?

The Princess Bride, Die Harder, I watch many different kinds of movies, most have the popcorn factor. There is not a lot of thought needed.

1. Do you like to read?

Yes! I tend to read anywhere from 5-20 books a week. They are on all different kinds of things.

1. Do you collect anything?

Not really, unless books, fabric or yarn count.

1. Do you own an iPod or mp3 player?

I have an Ipod, I am listening to right now.

1. What are your favorite type of knitting needles?

Knit Picks Circulars

1. What knitting notion could you not live without?

the sheep measuring tape or finishing needle. The funny part to this is I am always loosing them. I tend to borrow them for the night at one of the knitting groups I go to.

1. Who are some of your favorite designers?

Cookie A, Cat Bordhi, Wendy Knits

1. Do you subscribe to any magazines? (Knitting or otherwise.)

Consumer Reports, I am thinking of getting a subscription to Spin Off.

1. When is your birthday?

Jan 19

1. Do you have a "wishlist", (on Ravelry, Froogle, or Amazon)?

Not at this time.

1. Do you have a Ravelry ID?

Michelle

1. If you had a sheep, what would you name it?

George or Fred.

International Scarf Exchange 5 progress

I finshed, Yaaa!!! It came out a little different than I wanted but it is still cool, or warm in this case. Here it is already to be mailed. I just have a few more things that I want to put into the box to go with.

International Scarf Exchange

I got mine in the mail while my computer was out. Here are the pictures of it. I love the color and the bag is just the right size for socks. The tags out just the cutest.

computer

Well, I will not be around much. I took my computer in for repair, the back light was not working all the time and I had some bad cracks on the hinges. It will be gone for at least 2 weeks.

Non Dairy Apple Cake

This is a very good cake that I have been making for things lately, apples are in season right now.

Serves 12

8 cups, peeled and sliced apples
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup apple sauce
3 eggs
1 cup liquid, soy milk, water or juice of any kind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups flour, I use white wheat All-purpose would also work
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder

Directions:

preheat oven to 350 degrees
grease pan, 9 by 13 with cooking spray, I used canola oil spray.
In a large bowl mix apples with 1/2 cup sugar and the cinnamon.
Combine flour, salt and baking powder into a small bowl.
In a good size bowl mix the apple sauce and the sugar, the sugar will not dissolve all the way. Whisk in the eggs, then the liquid and vanilla.
Then fold in the flour mix to make a smooth batter.
Pour half of the batter into the pan, spread it around. Place the apples on top.
Pour the rest of the batter over the apples, try to get all of the apples covered.
Bake for 45 minutes or until the top is crusty and golden.

This can be served hot or cooled down.

MileHiCon

Last weekend was MileHiCon, a science fiction convention in Denver. This year it was very much like a family reunion. The all of my close family was there as well as my cousin, she lives only a few hours away. This was very cool. We will not see each other until Thanksgiving of next year. This year there was David Weber! He and his wife were very nice and so were most of the other authors. You get to see them on different panels and talk to them as they walk around. This year at the literacy auction David Weber was auctioning off the ability to have your name in one of his next books. A group of five people could bid together. This is called Tuckerization or Redshirting.
With this the person or persons that wins gets the book when it is sent to the publisher, a year ahead of when you can buy it. The second part of the bid allows that winner to decide of the person or persons being Tuckerized lives or dies. We, my family and someone that my mother had just met had the winning bid on gettingTuckerized. Someone else won the living or dieing part.

New Favorite Recipies

I am really liking Vegan Magic Cookie Bars with the Fat-Free Oatmeal Cookie Crust . I made this for knitting guild and they were all gone by the end of snack time.

allergy meds

DO not forget them. Even though you think that the vegetation has frozen. I went to Milehicon in Denver and forgot my Allegra. This made for a not so fun Sat. I was able to get something like it from my dad for sunday so that helped. I will really try not to forget again. I do not want to go though that again.

International Scarf Exchange 5 progress

I am making up the pattern as I go along. It is entrelac with lace panels. Here is one skein. It is 11-12 inches wide and 22 inches long so far. I like the way it is coming out.

Sockapalooza 4 sock savior

I signed up to be a Sockapalooza Sock Savior. I started the sock but it turns out my gauge is off so I have to rip and start again. I have not gotten that far and I did not like the toe so I am not that heart broken. I need to redo my math for less stitches so when I start again tomorrow it will not take as long. Here is what I have done before it gets ripped.

Sock Pal

Hello sock pal,

Please email me. I got your box but I no longer have your email.

I love the yarn, and the soap is great. I am using it right now as a scent for my wool yarn to keep moths away.

Where I have been

Well to start out with I just found out that I am allergic to all kinds of grasses. This started out with me getting red itchy eyes for about a week. Then I got the dripping nose, sneezing, sinus pain and just not feeling well. I was going to the Dr. to get my back adjusted and while I was there he gave a proscription to Allegra. This took care of most of the symptoms but I had no clue what was causing it. I set up an appointment with an allergist. The soonest was Oct 10. meet him Yesterday and had a prick allergy test.

My back still itches. I reacted to all of the grasses, not much else. I did react to rabbits a little bit. This makes me wonder if I will not like angora yarn. At this point it has cost to much so I have not done anying with it. T he most unfun part of all of this was that for a week before the allergy test I could not take anything. I spent most of the weekend with a box of tissues. Now I am on Allegra, a nasal spray and some eye drops. I go back in 2 weeks. I am debating on weather or not to get allergy shots.

Gym

Since I joined the gym a month ago I have lost 4 lbs and 1 percentage of body fat. Which is great. I have been using a personal trainer. She sets up what exercises that I will be doing for a week and weight and measure me once a week. I go to the gym at least 5 days a week. I tend to skip the day after I meat with Lisa, I am just to sore to go. This week Most of what I doing has to do with balancing. I have just a little more upper body strength but I still have a ways to go.

Tote Bag

I am defiantly getting better at making tote bags. This one only took 2 hours. It is for some one who likes pink. The rest of her box of stuff looks like this. I am mailing it out today.